Car-coupling



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT F. GUHL, OF LANDISVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 570,171, dated October27, 189.6.

Application letl February 14, 1894. Serial No. 500,168. (No model.)

.To @ZZ whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, ALBERT F. GUHL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Landisville, in the county of Lancaster and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomatic Car- Couplings; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertaius to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to improvements in an automatic car-couplingdevice of that class in which a speciallyconstructed catch or hook blockis so arranged within a recess or chamber in the forward end of adraw-head as to engage a link in another draw-head when the two arebrought together, automatically coupling the cars to which saiddrawheads are attached.

The object of the invention is to provide means to securely link carstogether in making up trains, as well as to uncouple the same, withoutthe attendant having to go between said cars to guide their links or todisengage the same, an act which is always accompanied with more or lessdanger.

The elements of the invention will clearly appear in the followingdescription and will be distinctly set forth in the claim.

The purposes of the invention are attained by the mechanism and devicesillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which simil-ar letters andnumerals of reference designate like parts throughout the several views,and in which- Figures 1, 2, and 3 are respectively a longitudinalvertical section, a top plan view, and a front end elevation, of adetached drawhead embodying the elements of the invention. Figs. 4., 5,and G are elevations, from below, of the draw-head, the closing-plate,and the coupling-block detached from Fig. 2. Figs. '7 and S are viewsshowing modifications of the device, and Fig. 9 is a plan of a link usedin connection with Figs. 7 and 8.

In the drawings, A designates the body of a draw-head adapted to besecured, in any approved manner, to the bodies of cars, at the endsthereof, for the purpose of coupling said cars together in making uptrains, and ct represents a connecting pin or bolt provided withbuffer-springs, by means of which said drawhead is secured in place. Theforward end of the drawfhead is provided with the usual bull-nose A', inthe face of which is the end opening for the link to enter in coupling,and it is also provided with a vertical orifice a', through which thewell-known pin is passed when the old-style link is used to couple ontoa car provided with the old-style coupling. Into a side in the forwardportion of `the drawhead is recessed a wall-plate A2, secured in placeby screws or bolts a2, tapped into its body, and this plate is adaptedto close the coupling-block chamber and confine or house said blockthereinto. This block and chamber, constituting the chief features ofthe present invention, will now beparticularly described.

The chamber A3, extending nearly through the body of the draw-head, asis shown by dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 8, is practically rectangular inform, having the lower portion a3 of its rear end wall, as well as thelower and upper portions a4 and a5 of its front end wall, cylindricallyTand outwardly concaved from a common center lin the rearward portion ofthe chamber, each curve having a different radial extent. The curvedportions of the front end wall are joined by a rearwardly-slopinginclined plane a6, and the center l lies in an axial line whichconstitutes the pivot-axis on which rotates the rear end of thecoupling-block, yet to be described, to perform its functions. In thetop is 'an orice or slot a7, through which an arm or lug projects fromthe coupling-block to lift the same in uncoupling.

B designates the couplingeblock, which is practically a rectangular bodyclosely fitted into the lower portion of the chamber A3, just mentioned,the curved rear end b to rotate freely in the concaved rear end a3 ofthe chamber, and the curved portions b and b2 of the front end to ride,respectively, against the portions a4 and a5 of its front end wall,while the sloping portion b3 is adapted to rest on the incline co6. Inthe forward end of the block is a recess B to receive the end of anyapproved coupling-link 2, and above, at the forward end of the recess,is a lip or hook b4 IOO to engage the lupper side or top notch of thelink in conpling,while the smooth bottom portion lf is adapted to raisethe link in uncoupling, and said recess must be just deep enough,allowing some freedom to the link end, to form a stop for said end tobutt against and assist in coupling in the opposing draw-head. A springB2, having one end secured to the drawhead by a screw b and bearingdownward onto the coupling-block, as at 17T, serves to keep thecoupling-block pressed downward and the link in place 0r engagement whencars are coupled, and B3 is a finger or arm projecting upward throughthe slot al, and having an orice bo in its upper end may be connectedwith any approved device whereby the forward end of said block may beraised or lifted when cars are to be cut loose or uncoupled.

Central ridges 3 may be formed in the mouth of the draw-head, Figs. 7and S, on the upper lip of the coupling-block and on the lower slope ofthe draw-head when a closed or the ordinarylink 4 may be used incoupling, (best shown in Fig. 7,) or the lower slope may be recessed oneach side of the central ridge, as shown by dotted lines 5 in Figs. 7and S, when said closed link 4 will be held entirely bythe couplinghookin the lower slope of the draw-head.

Then so desired, the projecting arm B3 of the coupling-block may beomitted, the slot (t7 in the top of the draw-head closed, and a liftingarm or cam C acts, through a slot6 in the bottom of the draw-head,against the under side of the coupling-block, and said arm, having oneend secured to a shaft C', is j ournaled across the under side of th'edrawhead in bearings c,attached to said under side, and the shaft beingprovided with a handle or lever arni'C2 is adapted to raise said blockin nn coupling. (All indicated by dotted lines in the drawings.) It willhere be observed that this construction or application of the liftingdevice is preferred, because the draw'- head will then be closed on topand a means for the ready admission of water or sloot into thecoupling-chamber prevented.

A11 inspection of Fig. l clearly shows a ready means for coupling carsby the use of arrow or spear headed links, and Fig. 7 one by the use oflinks like the one shown in Fig. 9.

Being aware that various devices using arrow-headed links and jaws haveheretofore been in use for coupling cars, I do not claim my inventionbroadly; but

That I do consider new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a car-couplin g of the characterdescribed, in combination: thedraw-head A having the bull-nose A and the plate A2 secured into a sidethereof; the housing-chamber in the forward end of the draw-head withthe circular rear end wall a3 and the circular front end wall portions cand d5 joined by the inclined portion a", said circular portions havingdif ferent radii from the common center l, havin g also thelink-aperture through the bullnose end thereof opening into saidchamber, and the side opening thereinto with the plate A2 adapted toclose said opening; the coupling-block B housed within the chamber andhaving the circular rear end portion b engaging the wall portion4 d3 andthe circular front end portions b and b2 engaging the wall portions ct4and ai" with the inclined portion b resting on the inclined wall portiona, said block having in its forward end the linksocket B with thelink-engaging hook b4 and the link-lifting portion b5; with mechanismprovided to raise the forward end of said block, and a spring B'fa asshown to press said end normally down, all substantially as describedand for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT F. GUIIL. llfitnesses:

ABRAHAM II. SHOCK, EDWIN BooKMYEn.

